Everyone is convinced Amazon Prime’s new horror series Swarm is inspired by the Beyhive
Chloe Bailey (L) and Dominque Fishback in Swarm on Amazon Prime. (Quantrell D. Colbert/Prime)
Amazon Prime’s gripping new horror series, Swarm, following an obsessive fan who will do anything to meet their musical icon.
Co-created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, the series, which is set in 2016, follows Dre (Dominique Fishback), whose life spirals out of control as her infatuation of fictional global pop star, Ni’Jah, slowly consumes her.
Judging by the trailer, it looks as though the series will be serving a serious dose of blood and gore, alongside one central motif – a swarm of bees. Sound familiar?
Yep, it’s exactly what you’re thinking, and fans have been quick to point out the eerie similarities between Beyoncé’s self-appointed fandom- the Beyhive – and Ni’Jah’s fandom, “the Swarm”.
Dre begins her downward trajectory with a stan Twitter account for her idol whose aesthetic is undeniably similar to the “Single Ladies” pop icon. After she embarks on a cross-country quest to track down her inspiration, things soon take a violent turn.
“She is not like everybody else,” Dre says in the trailer. “She knows what we are thinking and she gives it a name. She’s a goddess.”
We even see one of the characters talk about preferring the sister, perhaps in reference to the comparisons between Solange and Beyoncé.
« I don’t know,
— 90kidnyc (@90coolblackkid) February 25, 2023
I kinda like her sister better.
She seems more like, you know, spiritual » pic.twitter.com/HAneC61fbI
The premise is particularly interesting considering Fishback will star opposite Chloe Bailey who plays Dre’s sister, Marissa.
Bailey has a close relationship with the Queen in question, who has referred to them as family since she played the younger version of Beyoncé’s character Lilly in the 2003 film The Fighting Temptations.
Beyoncé signed Chloe Bailey and her sister Halle Bailey as an R&B duo to her Parkwood Entertainment management company in 2015 after their cover of her hit song “Pretty Hurts” went viral.
Since then, Beyoncé has publicly supported Bailey’s career, and she’s now getting set for the March release of her solo album, In Pieces.
Last year, Beyoncé sent Bailey flowers after she performed at the BET Awards, writing: “You killed it last night! Making me proud. All my love.”
Considering their longstanding relationship, fans are speculating Beyoncé must have given the greenlight for the series to go ahead.
“Not y’all having Beyoncé’s protege in a subliminal movie about her fan base,” one fan wrote.
While another pointed out: “No way Chloe would be in this without her not knowing beforehand. Also Chloe wouldn’t dare be associated with something that was meant to disrespect her. Even in the slightest. I’m intrigued.”
But people are mainly here for calling out the behaviour of the Beyhive.
They ain’t even trying to hide the fact that it’s about the beyhive and Beyoncé 💀
— Jewel 💎 Onika Burgers Era 🍔 (@jewelhasaproblm) February 24, 2023
So a movie about crazy Beyoncé fans?
— 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘚꙰ (@KrisPShotit) February 24, 2023
The Beyoncé fandom certainly has a track record. They defended the singer when her latest album Renaissance got leaked, and pushed to get more dates for her long-awaited world tour.
And it’s not the first time people have analysed stan culture, with the word itself coming from Eminem’s 2000 song “Stan” which followed a hyper-obsessed fan. Then there’s Taylor Swift fans (aka Swifties), who broke Ticketmaster during her Eras tour sale – and have since filed a lawsuit against the company over the fiasco.
It seems as though this series is ready to call out the dangers of modern, chronically online, fandom culture.
Swarm drops on Prime Video on 17 March.
